Reviews with content warning for Sexual assault - The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

I thought I was going to love this book. I did love the story line, the detail, and how the mystery keeps you wondering from beginning to end. The book is incredibly dark, which I normally really enjoy but I found myself lacking connection with the book and struggling to feel invested in the outcome. I think this is due to the lack of emotion in the book and the overwhelming amount of business blah blah. The entire book reads as an incredibly long list of facts with not a shred of poetic wording or connection to any deeper meaning.

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clotalksbooks's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

I ultimately enjoyed the story and waiting for the mystery to be unravelled. But there was a lot of "getting to know the characters" before the main story began, which was fine but a little slow. There is so much detail to things that I probably could have done without.

It takes quite a while for things to happen, and again once the main crux of the mystery is revealed (and covered very quickly comparatively), there is a lot more story to go. It felt like there were multiple endings, and I kept looking at the time left on the audiobook with shock.

Luckily the characters are interesting, and the narrator is good at putting them all across. His narration voice is very soothing though, so sometimes I did find myself drifting a little.

Overall I liked it, even with the dark themes, just think it could have been a shorter book and packed more of a punch.

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r34d3r's review against another edition

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dark emotional informative mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

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syraluna's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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agameofbooksblog's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

"The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" is a tantalizing mystery that weaves a complex narrative around the decades-old disappearance of Harriet Vanger. Despite its occasional lengthiness, the book manages to captivate with its unexpected plot turns. However, I must caution that the presence of the graphic and violent rape scene caught me off guard and could be distressing for some readers, warranting a trigger warning. Nevertheless, I remain intrigued by the characters and storyline, eager to delve into the next installment of this enigmatic series.

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keeganrb's review against another edition

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medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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jb_variant's review

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challenging dark mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

Pretty bleak, sometimes easy-reading prose, sometimes it got a bit bogged down. Glad I read it, but not going to be recommending it a lot.

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